The invention relates generally to methods and apparatus for printing and recording indicia and information on a medium such as paper, for example. More particularly, the invention relates to fully self contained and hand-held printing apparatus that is operated, for example, using a sweeping motion of the apparatus across a selectable area of the medium.
Hand-held printers known heretofore that are operated with a sweeping motion across the medium, have used external input functions, such as from a remote computer, for example, have been limited in the quantity, single line output, type and variety of information that can be printed, and can exhibit considerable image distortion. This distortion arises from movement of the print head along a non-linear path. Additionally, in a hand controlled sweeping device, it is possible to rotate the print head such as by a pivoting action brought about by the natural tendency of an operator to allow the apparatus to tilt or rotate during a sweeping action. This pivoting action changes the orientation of the print head with respect to the medium and thus can further result in distortion of the printed image. In some cases, mechanical devices have been incorporated into the printer to restrict or constrain movement to a linear path and to reduce the occurrence of a pivoting or rotational motion imparted to the apparatus. Such devices are less than desirable as the mechanical constraints reduce the flexibility of the apparatus, increase the apparatus size and weight, and do not achieve a convenient replacement for a conventional mechanical stamping device.
The objectives exist, therefore, for providing a more convenient apparatus and methods for a hand-held and operated fully self contained printer that is responsive to a simple and unconstrained sweeping motion and that exhibits reduced distortion in the printed indicia caused by such sweeping motion.